The Arterial network to Facilitate Participation of African Journalists at the Highway Africa Conference
2009 June
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| THE ARTERIAL NETWORK |
June 2009 | NEWSLETTER Dear #Firstname# Welcome to the June newsletter from the ARTerial Network, an informal, dynamic network of individuals, organisations, donors, companies and institutions engaged in the African cultural sector. The Network was formed to support the effectiveness and growth of the African arts and culture civil society and to enhance the sustainability of creative industries in Africa. |
| Table of contents I. What’s new with the ARTterial Network? Winter school on networks and advocacy Second ARTerial Network conference II. Calls for projects/Invitations Commonwealth Group on Culture and Development International Council of African Museums (AFRICOM), 3rd General Assembly and Conference How to apply to perform at Sauti za Busara Festival 2010 Orient Global Freedom to Create Prize III .Conferences Euro Africa Campus on Cultural Co-operation International Conference on "Dialogue of Civilisations and Cultural Diversity" adopts the Kairouan Declaration African Children and Youth Theatre Arena (ACYTA) Meeting Algeria to host the 2nd PanAfrican Culture Festival World Summit on Arts and Culture IV. Cultural events Fest'Art 2009 National Arts Festival 2009 Africarythmes 2009 Louma Africadoc - Rencontres Tënk 2009 V. Others IFACCA Report : Global Financial Crisis: Impact on the arts New content of the ACP Cultures web-site Cinetoile, an african cinema network To visit : Creative Africa Network (CAN) VI. Contact us |
| I. What’s new with the ARTterial Network? |
| Winter school on networks and advocacy The Arterial Network’s first (southern hemisphere) Winter School on arts advocacy and building civil society networks was held in Cape Town from 31 May-10 June. The event – funded by the European Union and HIVOS – was a major success with seventeen countries representing all five African regions: Northern Africa: Morocco and Egypt; West Africa: Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; East Africa: Uganda and Kenya, Central Africa: Cameroon and Democratic Republic of Congo; Southern Africa: Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe. Theory sessions centred around key documents such as the Belgrade Recommendation on the Status of the Artist, UNESCO’s Convention on the Promotion and Protection of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, the Nairobi Plan of Action on Cultural Industries and a document on culture and development. Training in practical skills included using the internet for marketing purposes, devising lobby strategies and an introduction to cultural entrepreneurship. Delegates were also able to take advantage of various arts events taking place in the city at the time including theatre, music and the Cape Africa Platform, a month-long celebration of visual art from the African continent. In terms of the primary aims of the school, sound relationships and partnerships were established and already collaborative projects have been embarked upon between individuals and organisations that did not know each other before the event. A key recommendation from the delegates was that, given its growing “brand awareness”, the Arterial Network should be formalised and that it needs to have a presence as the Arterial Network in countries across the continent, networking creative civil society organisations in each country. These and other recommendations will be discussed at the second Arterial Network symposium scheduled to take place from 19-21 September, just prior to the World Summit on Arts and Culture. A recommendation for this symposium is that at least thirty African countries should be represented there. For more information: margerie@arterialnetwork.org or www.arterialnetwork.org . |
| Second ARTerial Network conference 20 - 22 September, Johannesburg The second conference of the ARTerial Network will be held from 20-22 September in Johannesburg. More than 200 applications were received to participate at this second conference of the ARTerial Network and about 70 delegates are expected to represent all the regions of the continent The theme of the conference is “Advancing the rights and status of African artists through the Nairobi Plan of Action on Cultural Industries”. The Nairobi Plan has been adopted by the African Union and African Ministers of Culture and it represents an opportunity for civil society organisations to promote their interests and better conditions for artists working and living in African countries. The dates of the ARTerial Network conference coincide with the World Summit on Arts and Culture to be held in Johannesburg from 22 to 25 September 2009. For more information: margerie@arterialnetwork.org . |
| II. Calls for projects / Invitations |
| Commonwealth Group on Culture and Development Another potential contributor to the growth of the African creative sector is the recently-established Commonwealth Group on Arts and Culture which had its first meeting in London, coinciding with the Euro-Africa Campus on Cultural Cooperation. The next meeting of the heads of Commonwealth states takes place in Trinidad and Tobago in November 2009. The aim of the Commonwealth Group on Culture and Development is to develop a position paper for adoption in November that will outline the Commonwealth’s commitments in this area. All interested parties are invited to make submissions to the Group to inform the writing of this position paper. Fore more information about submissions, please visit: Submissions should be sent by post or email by 1 August 2009 to: www.commonwealthfoundation.com/culturediversity/Group/submissions/ Mark Nowottny Project Officer – Culture Commonwealth Foundation Marlborough House, Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HYUnited Kingdom E-mail: m.nowottny@commonwealth.int |
| International Council of African Museums (AFRICOM), 3rd General Assembly and Conference 2-5 December 2009, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso The 3rd AFRICOM General Assembly and Conference constitute yet another unique platform for African museum and heritage professionals to exchange ideas, experiences and to build personal and institutional networks. Apart from the discussion and networking opportunities, the 3rd AFRICOM General Assembly and Conference will also discuss the new AFRICOM Strategic Plan (2009-2013) and witness the election of a new Board of Directors. The AFRICOM General Assembly and Conference will bring together AFRICOM members and other African museum professionals, potential stakeholders and funding partners from all over the African continent as well as a number of non- African participants and institutions with significant experience in museums and cultural heritage management. The theme chosen for the conference is “New Museums for Africa: Change and Continuity” with three specialised workshops, each examining salient issues that impact on Africa’s heritage. In order to ensure greater representation and greater input and exchange, AFRICOM wishes to offer bursaries to cover travel and subsistence for approximately two museum professionals from each African country. Such an assembly of persons from every corner of the continent would provide an exceptionally rich and highly motivating gathering. Applications for bursaries to attend the General Assembly and Conference must adhere strictly to the requirements set out in the Criteria for the Award of Bursaries. Members and non-members alike are welcome to attend the General Assembly and Conference, and potential participants are encouraged to seek their own funding from their host institution or elsewhere. Link: Candidacy Form Email : candidate@africom.museum Website: www.africom.museum |
| How to apply to perform at Sauti za Busara Festival 2010 Sauti za Busara is an international music festival, held every February in Zanzibar, showcasing music from around the Swahili region, across the African continent and the diaspora beyond. Over past years, more than 240 groups have performed, including Jose Chameleone, Juma Nature & Wanaume Family TMK, Samba Mapangala, Saida Karoli, Natacha Atlas, Didier Awadi, Eric Wainaina, Bassekou Kouyate, Seckou Keita Quartet, Culture Musical Club and many more. DEADLINES for applications The deadlines for applications are as follows: International 31 July 2009 /Tanzania 31 August 2009. Busara Promotions PO Box 3635, Zanzibar, Tanzania Tel: +255 24 223 2423 or +255 784 925 499 Email: busara@zanlink.com Link: www.busaramusic.org/callforartists/2010e.php |
| Orient Global Freedom to Create Prize ArtAction, a philanthropic organisation which provides grants for those projects which use the arts to address the root causes of conflict, illness and poverty has a US$ 125,000 international arts prize which is designed to support and promote the work that is done in this vital area. This year’s Orient Global Freedom to Create Prize – (www.freedomtocreateprize.com) is designed to honour those artists who use their talent to promote social justice, build the foundations for an open society and inspire the human spirit. There are three categories – Main, Youth and Imprisoned Artist. Entries close on August 14. E-mail: info@freedomtocreateprize.com To find out more, please visit: www.freedomtocreateprize.com |
| III. Conferences |
| Euro Africa Campus on Cultural Co-operation The first Euro Africa Campus on Cultural Co-operation was held in Maputo from 22-26 June, bringing together more than 150 cultural policy experts, academics and creative practitioners from Africa and Europe. Organised by Interarts and the Observatory for Cultural Policies in Africa (OCPA) and funded by the Spanish government, it was an intense week of plenary sessions and workshops dealing with various themes related to the cultural dimension of development. A session on networking was facilitated by the Arterial Network with useful recommendations emerging from it. Again, the Campus provided excellent opportunities to debate issues and for networking players active in the creative sphere on the continent. The challenge now is to progress from debate and theoretical discussions to practical implementation so that development generally and the cultural dimension of development begin to have real and significant impact on a continent whose countries occupy the bottom rung of the Human Development Index. |
| International Conference on "Dialogue of Civilisations and Cultural Diversity" adopts the Kairouan Declaration The International Conference on "Dialogue of Civilisations and Cultural Diversity" held on June 2-4, in Kairouan, the capital of Islamic culture for 2009, on the initiative of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO) and the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF), with the support of the Tunisian government, with the participation of intellectuals, media professionals and representatives of various international and regional organizations and bodies and civil society institutions. The Declaration was adopted as a reference document, in light of its in-depth analysis of the international situation and the issues it raises, with a view to orienting efforts exerted for an international partnership based on dialogue, co-operation, peace and development. Link : Declaration of Kairouan for dialogue among civilizations and respect for cultural diversity. |
| African Children and Youth Theatre Arena (ACYTA) Meeting Johannesburg, South Africa: 17-19 September 2009 Assitej South Africa will host an ACYTA (African Children and Youth Theatre Arena) Meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 17-19 September 2009. Delegates will be coming from chapters across the continent, including Nigeria, Tanzania, Cameroon, Zambia, Rwanda, Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Benin, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The meeting will be attached to the meeting of the Arterial Network (20-22 September) www.arterialnetwork.org, just before the IFACAA World Congress on Arts and Culture (22-25 September), www.artsummit.org. Delegates will be encouraged to attend the other two meetings after the ACYTA meeting has taken place. The purpose of the meeting will be to explore areas such as Artistic exchange within Africa, Capacity building of national centres, Positioning of Assitej in Africa, Communication within ACYTA, Synergies between centres and Funding partnerships. The meeting will also look at the achievements and obstacles to achievement within ACYTA. For more information on the meeting, contact Yvette Hardie at yvette@hardie.co.za Website : www.acyta.co.za |
| Algeria to host the 2nd PanAfrican Culture Festival From July 5 to 20, Algiers will rock to the beat of the 2nd PanAfrican Cultural Festival (PANAF). Some 8,000 people from 48 countries of the African Union, the Western Sahara Arab Republic, the United States of America, and Brazil will converge on Algeria’s capital to take part in a rich and varied program of theater, cinema, song, and dance activities. Books will also be part of this cultural event, through the reissue of close to 250 African titles. Some 25 culture ministers and secretaries of state are expected to attend the event. For more information, we invite you to visit the PANAF website : www.panafalger2009.com |
World Summit on Arts and Culture More than 400 delegates are expected to attend the Fourth World Summit on Arts and Culture scheduled to take place in Johannesburg from 22-26 September around the theme “Meeting of Cultures: Creating Meaning through the Arts”. The first keynote session: Sword or Ploughshare, Bridge or Dynamite: the arts as vehicles for the meeting of cultures explores the role of the arts in crossing – or contributing to - the major cultural divides in the world today. Consistent with the theme of crossing cultural divides and having voices from a variety of perspectives, the two speakers in this session are Stojan Pelko, State Secretary for Culture in Slovenia and Njabulo Ndebele, a South African writer, academic and commentator. The theme for the second day’s keynote session is Cultural Diversity: necessary for world peace or the root of all conflict with Madeeha Gauhar, a Prins Claus Fund laureate and theatre activist from Pakistan, and Lindsay Blackett, the minister responsible for culture in Alberta, Canada as the speakers. On the first day, there are ten roundtable sessions debating themes such as freedom of expression versus cultural sensitivity; the practical meaning of the cultural dimension of development; whether the arts market can really facilitate intercultural dialogue and cultural diversity and whether specialised cultural funding to empower immigrant or indigenous communities actually ghettoises them. The second day’s roundtable discussions are geared towards “big ideas” that can uniquely be launched at a forum such as the World Summit. These include a rotating African cultural capital modelled on the European capital of culture, developing transnational regional funds for arts and culture, and the role of artists in responding to global, regional and national conflicts. With the Summit being held in Africa for the first time, much thought is being given to the legacy that the Summit should leave for the continent’s creative sector. The growth of the Arterial Network and its second conference to project its next phase of development just prior to the Summit, the Euro Africa Campus on Cultural Development, the adoption of the Nairobi Plan of Action by African ministers of culture, the coming into effect of UNESCO’s Convention on the Promotion and Protection of Cultural Diversity and the World Summit on Arts and Culture are all significant developments that could impact positively on the African creative sector and on development generally. Contact: E-mail: info@artsummit.org Rosie Katz, World Summit Coordinator: rosie@artslink.co.za / +27 11 838 1383 Website : www.artsummit.org |
| IV. Cultural events |
| Fest'Art 2009 From 1st to 8 July 2009, Dakar, Senegal. The 5th edition of Fest’Art, an international theatre festival for peace in Dakar. festart2007@gmail.com festart.over-blog.com |
| National Arts Festival 2009 From 2 to 11 July, 2009, Grahamstown, South Africa The largest festival of its kind in Africa. A true Arts Festival with drama, dance, visual arts, music, film, jazz, painting, sculpting, etc. One festival NOT to be missed on your arts calendar. info@nationalartsfestival.co.za www.nationalartsfestival.co.za |
| Africarythmes 2009 From 1st to 10 July 2009, Lomé, Togo 2nd edition of Africarytmes, the international festival of African music in Togo. www.africarythmes.com |
| Louma From 2 to 9 July 2009, Saint-Louis, Senegal In linking with “Tënk Festival” Louma will be the first international and professional meeting for African documentary in Senegal. contact@africadoc.net www.africadoc.net |
| Africadoc - Rencontres Tënk 2009 From 5 to 9 July 2009, Saint-Louis, Senegal Tënk Festival is a meeting not to be missed for the African documentary scene. contact@africadoc.net www.africadoc.net |
| V. Others |
IFACCA Report : Global Financial Crisis: Impact on the arts E-mail : info@ifacca.org Arts councils and ministries of culture have a key role in working to minimise the negative impacts of the downturn on the arts and in helping artists and arts organisations navigate such uncertain times. They also have a key role in advising on and coordinating the arts and cultural aspects of the much-publicised central government responses to the downturn. The aim of the report is to consolidate the collective expertise of IFACCA (International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies) members as quickly as possible in order to help members respond to the downturn in a timely and informed way. This report presents the results of a survey of members of IFACCA on the likely impacts on the arts of the global downturn, and on how arts councils and ministries of culture around the world are helping arts sectors meet the challenges of the downturn. While the overwhelming majority of respondents expect the global downturn to impact on the arts, many are still unsure about the extent, nature and timing of the impacts. Respondents unanimously agreed that a follow-up survey should be undertaken in 2009. Les Conseils des Arts et les Ministères de la Culture ont un rôle clé dans la réduction des impactes négatifs de la récession qui touche le secteur des arts et dans l’aide aux artistes et aux organisations culturelles dans ces temps incertains. Ils ont également un rôle clé en termes de conseil et de coordination et de publication des décisions prises dans le domaine des arts par les gouvernements en réponse à la crise. Link : Report, Global financial crisis and recession: Impact on the arts Website : www.ifacca.org |
| New content of the ACP Cultures web-site www.acpcultures.eu The new web-site ACP Cultures provides information about: - Funding opportunities, training and mobility initiatives for cultural actors. - A Resource centre on the ACP cultural sector. - Networking tools. A very useful website to include in your favourites : www.acpcultures.eu |
| Cinetoile, an african cinema network The main aim of the project is to encourage the promotion and distribution of African cinema in Africa. Cinetoile is a project set up by Africalia and funded by the European Commission. It is based on the principle that the prestigious works of African cinema need to be enhanced and that these works need to be recognised as elements of cultural heritage and as tools for dialogue between African peoples. The specific objectives of Cinetoile are: – to increase the capacity of operators in their field in the long term – to enable these operators, the partners, to access an increasingly wider audience, in particular by using the concept of the travelling cinema. – to increase awareness among target audiences who are socially, economically or geographically underprivileged as regards the expression and content of films from different African countries. – to increase awareness among culture professionals of the problems of distributing African films and the action taken by Cinetoile. Partner networking is the strategic axis for the development of the CineToile project. Expanding this network will bear witness to the viability of the action in the long term and thereby improve the capacities and structures for promotion and distribution in practice. The project has developed with eight southern partners from various regions of the continent who work to promote African cinema : CNA – Burkina Faso and Mali www.c-n-a.org, Red Flag – South Africa www.redflag.co.za, Studio Malembe Maa – DRC studiomaa@hotmail.com, Lola Kenya Screen – Kenya www.artmatters.info, Amakula Kampala Cultural Foundation – Uganda www.amakula.com, ZIFF – Tanzania www.ziff.or.tz, International Video Fair Trust – Zimbabwe www.videofair.org.zw. They complement one another through the diversity of their abilities and their cultures. The partners are to join forces to implement a wide-ranging plan to screen African films and together develop a series of activities, seminars and meetings. E-mail : info@cinetoile.eu Website : www.cinetoile.eu |
| To visit : Creative Africa Network (CAN) Creative Africa Network (CAN) is a virtual platform with global reach, connecting the creative world within and outside of Africa, giving visibility to the talents working in contemporary art, film, architecture, design, and the performing arts. CAN social networking website : www.creativeafricanetwork.com |
| VI. Contact Us |
If you wish to contact the ARTerial Network or if you received this newsletter second hand and would like to be on our database write to: info@arterialnetwork.org and for further information, visit www.arterialnetwork.org and www.artsinafrica.com . Tel: + 27 (0) 21 465 9027 The ARTerial Network Union House, Second Floor 25 Commercial Street Cape Town 8001 South Africa |
